Steven Universe: Obsidian
by TrollerPilotXIV
Summary: When an enigmatic gem crash-lands on Earth, Steven and the gang must choose to help or fight him on a dangerous mission that could decide the fate of Earth and, ultimately, the entire universe.
1. A Normal Day

It started out like any other normal day. Steven and the Gems had gone to visit Peridot and Lapis at the barn. The sky was clear, the air was warm, and everything was pointing to it being another great day for everyone.

But then everything changed.

Steven was really looking forward to the visit. He had brought along a kite, and was going to show Lapis and Peridot how it worked. He had been introducing the two of them to more and more human customs, and to him they seemed to like the planet much more than they had when they had first settled down at the barn.

Now Steven and the Gems were almost at the barn. Steven could already see Peridot and Lapis waiting for them at the top of the hill.

"Hi guys!" Steven exclaimed excitedly. "I've got something I want to show you!"

Peridot had an unusually large grin on her face, and was giggling softly. "We've got something to show YOU!" she said. Steven wondered why she was giggling, but when he got to the crest of the hill, he saw why.

"Connie? What are you doing here with that huge piece of cloth?"

Connie was standing behind the two gems, holding an enormous piece of cloth. She was also giggling slightly. "I sorta kinda told them about the kite."

"Why, Connie? It was supposed to be a surprise!" Steven was getting kind of mad, but to Connie it just made him look cute.

"I was talking with Lapis and Peridot earlier, and may have accidentally brought up the kite. Peridot got really excited about it, and after I explained to her what a kite was, she wanted me to bring a big piece of cloth. For what, I don't quite know, but I have a vague idea."

Steven walked up to Peridot. He was pretty sure he knew what she had in mind.

"It's a giant kite, isn't it?"

Peridot looked offended. "Well, it isn't a giant kite yet, Steven," she quipped. "It's still just a large piece of cloth and some sticks. But if we actually try and work on it, it'll definitely be a kite!"

"Well, now that you know about the kite, we might as well get started on the big one." Steven was slightly disappointed, but was also very excited at the prospect of building an enormous kite. Also, he had a good idea of what he wanted to do with it.

Thirty minutes later, Steven, Connie and the gems stood proudly in front of a kite that was at least thirty feet long. Steven was proud of it; he, Peridot, Lapis, and Connie had worked on it very hard and it had all paid off in the end.

"Now what are we going to do with this?" inquired Pearl, always the pessimist. "It's a thirty foot kite; it'll never get off the ground. There's little enough wind as it is."

"Well," said Lapis, a confident smirk crossing her face, "I may have an idea."


	2. A Strange Gem

"WHOAAAA! THIS IS FUN! CRAZY, BUT FUN!" Steven was clinging onto the metal bar on the bottom of the kite next to Connie and Peridot.

"See? I told you you'd like it," said Lapis, who was currently pulling the giant kite through the sky. "I know you like doing crazy things, so this would be right up your alley!"

Connie, meanwhile, was thinking. She pondered how whenever Lapis flew, she experienced this world of solitude, this place where she could see as far as possible, without any obstructions to her vision. She looked around, taking in the whole landscape. She saw the mountains, Beach City, the far-off Empire City, the forest.

And then she saw the patch of smoke rising from the forest.

"Hey! Lapis! There's something down to your left!"

"I saw it." Lapis was already headed toward the smoke. "From what I saw, it looks like the trees surrounding the smoke have all been levelled. We could be dealing with something powerful."

"Or," said Connie, "a logging company. It could be as simple as that."

They approached the smoke. As they got closer, Steven and the rest could see that there was no equipment hinting at a logging company. Instead, all they could make out was a solitary figure, leaning against a tree at the far side of the clearing. "I'm landing, people! Hang on tight," exclaimed Lapis as she dropped them off in the middle of the clearing. Now, they had a clear view of the figure.

It was a young man. He appeared to be slightly taller than Lapis, and was rather skinny. He was wearing black jeans, a leather coat, boots, and a gloomy look on his face. His hair was rather long and pointed backwards, similar to Lapis' hair but without the upward curl. He would have looked like a normal human, except for one thing: his skin was dark gray.

 _No normal human would have naturally gray skin,_ Steven pondered. Then, his natural curiosity kicked in, and he walked up to the man.

"Hi, mister! What are you doing out here all alone?"

The man didn't look up. "Training," he said quietly.

"So you're the one who levelled all these trees?"

The man lifted his head to look straight at Steven. "Are there others with you?"

"Well, there's Connie, Lapis, Peridot, Lapis—

"More gems." The man's expression turned suddenly fierce. "So, you've been hunting me."

Steven looked dumbstruck. "Hunting you? I've never even heard of you. Who even are you?"

"More gems," the man repeated. "They're obviously after me. I should escape while I'm able…no. I've run away all my life. Now, I stand my ground. I will no longer run!" The man reached behind his back with both his hands and pulled two swords out. They were long, black katanas, with vertical, O-shaped guards and wickedly sharp blades.

"He's a gem!" screamed Peridot as the man lunged at Steven. He quickly summoned his shield and blocked the attack easily.

Connie rushed at the gem, saber drawn. "Take Peridot and get help!" she yelled at Lapis, shortly before parrying a flurry of blows. _This is the strongest opponent I've ever faced,_ she thought. _I'm glad I had all that training from Pearl._ Her ideas were shattered as one of the katanas grazed her face. She countered with a series of sweeping strikes, driving their assailant back long enough to get Steven to safety.

"Quick, Steven!" she yelled, narrowly dodging another attack. "We need to form Stevonnie so we can buy the others some time!"

Steven nodded, and soon Stevonnie was advancing on the gem, blocking his attacks while at the same time driving him back with their own sword. They did this for another two minutes until Lapis arrived with Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl in tow.

"Stevonnie! Get back!" Garnet pushed them aside as the gem made another attack. Amethyst managed to pull the sword out of the gem's left hand, while Pearl kept his right hand busy. He was so preoccupied fending off Pearl's quick, fluttering strikes that he didn't notice Garnet approaching him from behind…

WHAM!

The strange gem fell down, unconscious. "I didn't poof him because we need to question him as soon as possible, and something tells me it'll take more time than usual for him to reform," remarked Garnet before anyone could ask. "Let's get him back to the temple."


	3. Obsidian

The first thing the gem saw when he came around was an enormous, rather chubby face grinning at him.

"Hello again! Nice to see you've woken up! I'm Steven, and these are…"

"Steven, let me do the talking." A red face with a huge afro appeared in front of him. "First things first, sit up."

The gem sat up and took in his surroundings. He was in a large structure, half-wooden and half-stone, with many smaller structures dotting its interior. Currently, he was sitting on a long, wooden platform, elevated above the surface of the ground, and was surrounded by several figures. Two were obviously humans, seeing as their skin colors were different than that of their clothes. The gems seemed to be a Garnet, an Amethyst, a Pearl, a Lapis Lazuli, and a Peridot.

 _So,_ he thought, _these are the gems I was assigned to kill…_

"Now, I need you to answer these questions." The Garnet was talking again. "Who or what are you and why did you attack us?"

"Well, I may as well tell you everything," the gem answered in a resigned voice. "I am Obsidian, and I crash-landed on earth while on a special mission for Homeworld."

The shorter human known as Steven stepped forward. "Obsidian? I've never heard of an Obsidian before. Also, what secret mission?"

"I was an experimental gem, created for the sole purpose of destroying the Crystal Gems. During my training, I was pitted against a Garnet, an Amethyst, a Pearl and a Rose Quartz at the same time and emerged victorious. The Diamonds were sure I would be able to vanquish the Crystal Gems with ease, but, as a contingency plan, they gave me a partner. Moonstone was just as powerful as I, and our fusion was able to take out a Sardonyx, a Sugelite, an Opal and even an Alexandrite. However, before giving us the final command to go and take out the Crystal Gems, something went wrong. Even I don't know what happened. All I remember is that we suddenly knew we were simply tools, a means to an end. We attempted to escape Homeworld, but their forces pursued us and destroyed our craft's main propulsion systems. Our craft crash-landed on Earth, and the resulting explosion threw Moonstone and I in different directions. I haven't seen him since. It's been about a week now."

"So, are the Homeworld Gems coming to rescue you?" Steven chimed in.

Obsidian looked down. "No. Due to the experimental malfunction, Moonstone and I have most likely been labeled as fugitives. In all likelihood, they'll be searching the neighbouring systems, trying to hunt me down and destroy me. Of course, none of you will care, seeing as I tried to kill you."

Steven looked suddenly cheerful. "Don't worry, silly! Of course we'll try to help you! Peridot tried to kill us, and we still took her under our wing! Right, Peridot?"

The Peridot tried to put on a glum expression, but everyone could see her blush a bit. "Well…yeah. I guess you did."

"Does this mean I'm a Crystal Gem now?"

Steven's eyes sparkled. "Yes! You're a Crystal Gem now!"

Obsidian grumbled. Joining the very adversary he was made to destroy went against everything he was taught. However, he saw no alternative in the situation, and needed all the help he could get.

"Fine," he mumbled. "I'll join you. But under one condition."

"What's that?" Now the Pearl was interested.

Obsidian grinned. "Help me find Moonstone."


	4. The Search for Moonstone

"You're absolutely sure this is where Moonstone landed?" Amethyst shouted from the kite, currently being pulled behind Lapis. "All I see are trees!"

"No. I'm not sure. But this is the closest estimate I could make."

The team was shoving their way through a dense jungle, while Amethyst and Lapis maintained a bird's eye view. From Obsidian's calculations, Moonstone would be somewhere in the jungle, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly where. They had been searching for him for three hours now, and still hadn't even come across a sign that he had ever been there.

"Keep going, everyone. We'll find him eventually."

"Well, what if we don't?" Amethyst was getting impatient. "We've been trekking through impenetrable jungle for three hours! Well, you have. I'm not seeing anything!"

"Wait! Everyone, stop!" Steven was holding his head.

Pearl rushed up to him. "Is everything all right? Is something hurting you?"

"I'm hearing this super high-pitched sound coming from our left. For all we know, that could be Moonstone!"

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get a move on!" Obsidian took one of his katanas and started slashing his way through the underbrush toward where Steven said the sound was coming from.

After about ten minutes, Amethyst announced that she saw something. "There's a clearing similar to the one Obsidian was in not that far ahead! This could be it!"

A few bushes and trees later, the group stumbled into the clearing. There, they witnessed a fascinating sight.

There was a huge machine in the center of the clearing. It seemed to be made of wood and metal, and had a huge satellite dish on top. Its entire surface was covered with buttons, and there were several lights flashing on and off around it. However, what drew everyone's attention was the gem. He was standing in front of a large screen, staring intently at what appeared to be a starmap, while an enormous white warhammer easily taller than him leaned against the mechanism next to him.

"Hey! Moonstone!" Obsidian broke the silence.

Moonstone turned around, and then stared with disbelief at Obsidian.

"Obsidian? I thought you had died! Who are these with you?"

"They're the gems we were sent here to kill. I made an alliance with them, seeing as we have a common enemy."

"Well then, I guess any ally of Obsidian is an ally of mine! Nice to meet you all!"

As Moonstone greeted the group, they managed to get their first good look at him. He looked almost identical to Obsidian, except for the fact that his gem was in the center of his torso and that rather than black and dark gray, he appeared to be bluish-white, similar to Pearl.

Steven was looking at the machine. "Whoa! Did you make that yourself? What is it?"

"Of course!" Moonstone said rather proudly. "We gems have to learn how to build stuff out of whatever we have; otherwise we can't survive on our own. It's a natural talent."

"He's right, you know," remarked Peridot smugly.

"Oh, and to answer your question about what it is, it's a satellite scanner. It searches outer space to tell me whether Homeworld has sent any forces to locate Obsidian and I."

Moonstone's expression suddenly turned anxious. "Speaking of which, there appear to be three Homeworld Gem Cruisers on a beeline for earth." He grabbed his warhammer, which dematerialized in his hand. "They will land in approximately half an hour."


	5. Beach Battle

The group stood on the beach in front of the temple. In the sky above them, three hand-shaped cruisers were headed right for them.

"Those are Type-F Invasion Cruisers, specially made for deploying large numbers of troops," Moonstone observed. "If we don't do something, we will be outnumbered and quickly vanquished."

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Pearl was in a tizzy. "If they deploy all their troops, this entire section of the continent will be practically wiped off the map!"

Garnet stepped up and put a hand on Pearl's shoulder. "Pearl, you're overreacting again. We have to keep calm. In the meantime, we need to find a way to thin their ranks. If only the Laser Light Cannon and Quartizine Trio were powerful enough to destroy those…"

"Yeah, if only…THAT'S IT!" Obsidian rushed over to Garnet, a determined look on his face. "Garnet! You have to fuse with me! No time to explain!"

"Gladly," replied Garnet, and they proceeded to fuse. The fusion that resulted was a shock to everyone except for Moonstone.

"Holy smokes!" shouted Amethyst.

"Well, that certainly wasn't what I was expecting," remarked Lapis.

Pearl simply fell over backwards.

"Cool!" yelled Steven.

Peridot's reaction was the most straightforward. "What _is_ that?"

"That," explained Moonstone, "is Bloodstone. During our training, for reasons unknown, Obsidian and I were made to fuse with a myriad of other gems, including a Garnet, an Amethyst, a Pearl and each other. Our fusions were exceptionally powerful, but some of them could be…unusual."

And unusual it was. It was easily as large as the other Crystal Gem fusions, but the similarity ended there. Its entire body was black, and divided into two parts. The lower part was shaped somewhat like a leg, with a broader top and a thinner bottom, but the bottom tapered into a point with no visible trace of a foot. The top was perfectly spherical, with two long, spindly arms ending in three-fingered hands coming off the side. The head was shaped like a diamond with smoothed edges, had no facial features, and had three long, antenna-like appendages on the top and the upper edges. A thin, gray, membrane-like filament connected its torso and lower body to its arms like webbing. Finally, rather than having two gems, it had one black-and-red mottled gem placed in the center of its face.

"So how is that going to help us?" Amethyst asked skeptically.

As if to answer her question, Bloodstone suddenly fired an enormous red beam out of its gem. Rather than being simply absorbed by the ship, like those of the Light Cannons, the beam pierced straight through it, and it careened out of control towards the waiting ocean.

Pearl aroused herself. "Quick! Destroy the other two!"

She suddenly heard a voice in her head. "I can't. I can only fire the Gem Beam every two minutes."

"What was that?" Pearl shouted at Moonstone.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Seeing as Bloodstone doesn't have a mouth, or any other orifices for that matter, it communicates telepathically."

"Quick!" This time, everyone heard the voice in their heads. "Everyone who is able needs to form a fusion! We're going to have our hands full in a moment! Lapis and Peridot, get back! I know for a fact you'll be needed in the support role."

Soon, Bloodstone, Smoky Quartz, and Halite, Moonstone and Pearl's fusion, were ready to receive the invaders. The cruisers landed, and at least fifty Rubies, accompanied by ten Jaspers and Amethysts, streamed out. Smoky Quartz uncoiled her three yo-yos, Halite pulled a long, elegant-looking scythe out, blades appeared on the ends of Bloodstone's arms, and the battle was on.

Five Rubies at once charged Halite, who swept them away with her scythe with ease. She was then slammed on the back by the mace of a Jasper, who she locked weapons with. Smoky Quartz poofed every Ruby who came close to her, and even took out two Amethysts at the same time. Bloodstone extended its blades to a surprising length, and started spinning like a tornado, disintegrating every enemy Gem that came close. Soon, all that was left was sixty gemstones, lying higgledy-piggledy on the beach like so much flotsam.

"I don't know about you people," said Amethyst after they had all de-fused, "but I think those gems threw the battle."

"We won, and that's all that matters," replied Obsidian gravely. "Crystal Gems, tonight we need to have a talk."


	6. Midnight Discussion

Late that night, Steven woke up to see the Crystal Gems discussing something with Obsidian and Moonstone. He crept closer to the railing, and could eventually make out what they were saying.

"What's wrong with these attacks? They don't happen very often, and we've been able to fight them off every time!"

"Garnet, how long have these infrequent attacks been going on?"

"About three thousand years."

"I rest my case. Homeworld is persistent; they won't stop sending these raids until either you or they fall."

"So how does your alternative help the case? How will attacking Homeworld help this issue at all?"

"Well, Pearl, notice that I said they won't stop until either you or they fall. It doesn't seem like you're considering falling anytime soon."

"Well, they aren't considering falling anytime soon, either. Besides, how are we, seven gems and a half-gem, going to take on the armies of Homeworld? We'd be crushed in seconds!"

"Ah, that's where you misunderstand the point. We aren't going to take on its armies; that, as you said, would be a fool's errand. What I suggest is that we destroy the Homeworld forces from the inside out."

"Sorry, could you elaborate on that?"

"Of course! You know that everything, be it creature or empire, follows this fundamental law: if its head is destroyed, its body soon follows."

"Unless it's a jellyfish."

"Yes, of course. Jellyfish don't have heads. Good point."

"Or a worm."

"We get it, Amethyst."

"Anyway, back to the fundamental law. If a creature or empire's head is destroyed, its body soon follows. The Homeworld Empire is no different."

"So what you're suggesting is…"

"We go and destroy the Homeworld authority. It's our only plausible option."

"Somehow that sounds like an even worse idea than facing the Homeworld army head-on."

"Who asked you, Peridot? What are you even doing here, anyway?"

"I got curious about what you meant by 'Crystal gems, we need to talk', and decided to listen in."

"Anyway, Moonstone and I have been thinking about it, and we've come up with a plan so crazy it just might work. Tell them, Moonstone."

"Basically, Obsidian and I will enter the Gem Headquarters. We'll get access to all four diamonds without an appointment, as black gems usually have very high ranks in Homeworld society."

"Define 'usually'."

"Basically, all black gems that aren't me have high ranks. So do white gems, unless they're pearls. No offense, Pearl."

*Grumble*

"So as I was saying, Obsidian and I will fuse when least expected, destroy the authority, and, hopefully, return to Earth safely. Any questions?"

"Yes, Amethyst?"

"Yeah, how does you two fusing make it so you can take down the diamonds?"

"Our fusion, Wurtzite Boron Nitrate, or just Wurtzite for short, is the only gem known to be able to shatter diamonds with ease."

"Yes, Pearl?"

"What did you mean when you said, 'all four diamonds'? I thought there were only three left."

"Tell her, Obsidian."

"All the other gems may think the Homeworld Empire is led by the triumvirate of Yellow, Blue and White diamonds, but there's actually a fourth one that only the black gems, myself included, know about. We basically owe our high ranks to the fact that we answer directly to it."

"And I'm guessing that fourth diamond is…Black Diamond?"

"Yes. Black Diamond is the most powerful of the four diamonds; it lets the Diamond Triumvirate think they're making the laws, keeping the peace, and waging the wars, but it's the one pulling the strings behind them. That's why we need to eliminate it. If we can get rid of Black Diamond, we don't need to bother with the other three."

"I don't know how, but I think you just made your plan sound that much more foolhardy."

"Be quiet, Peridot. You're not helping anyone."

"Final question: How are you going to get back to Homeworld? Those cruisers were completely totalled after the battle."

"Good question. Fortunately, we have a possible solution. The ship we escaped from Homeworld in was a stealth corvette that was going to be assigned to us for our mission. If you recall me telling you, the engines were destroyed by our pursuers, but the rest of the ship is intact. It's possible, using some resources here on Earth, to repair the engines and use the corvette to get to Homeworld."

"Well, that certainly does seem to be the best idea at this time. Steven, what are you doing? Get back in bed."

A week later, the gems stood in front of the repaired corvette. Unlike most gem crafts, it was not in the shape of a hand. Its fuselage was rather short, eventually curving sideways in two opposite directions to form a pair of very long, vertical wings. The repaired engines ran the length of the backs of the wings.

Moonstone stepped out of the spaceship cabin. "It's all ready! We can go save Earth now!"

With the Gems cheering, the craft lifted off the ground, pointed skyward, and rocketed into the atmosphere.

"Well," breathed Pearl, "I'd say that was pretty impressive. Wouldn't you agree, Steven?"

"…Steven?"


	7. Pure Gems

The corvette slipped through the darkness of space. Obsidian looked outside the cabin window, and felt like he could see everything. There were stars dotting the black everywhere, and behind it all, a vast, colourful nebula brought depth to it all. It was like staring into a dream.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" asked a voice behind him.

"Steven? What are you doing here?"

Steven was staring out the window across from him. "I heard you talking about Black Diamond last night, and I wanted to hear more."

"And for that you stowed away here? First of all, the Crystal Gems will be worried sick about you! Second, this is a very perilous mission. We all could die. Did you even think about it before you snuck on board?"

"Yes." Steven had a confident smile on his face. "I want to know everything. Besides, maybe I'll come in handy during the mission."

Obsidian sighed. "Moonstone, could you send a transmission to the Crystal Gems? Tell 'em Steven got on board the corvette."

"Sure thing," said Moonstone from the cockpit.

"Anyway, Steven, what is it you want to know?"

"I want to know about Black Diamond. Why she's kept secret from all but the black gems. What makes her the most powerful diamond."

"Steven, what I'm going to tell you will likely weigh very heavily on you," replied Obsidian. "I think we'd better go sit down."

Obsidian motioned toward a table with two chairs, and they went and sat down.

"So, why is Black Diamond kept secret from most gems, and how is she so powerful?"

"Black Diamond isn't a 'she', Steven. Black Diamond is an 'it'."

"What do you mean, an 'it'?"

"Black Diamond doesn't have a humanoid form. It's a "pure" gem, a gem that has transcended the biological level of other gems."

"So what does Black Diamond look like?"

"Basically, Black Diamond is just…well, a gem. It's an enormous, ancient gemstone, at least the size of this room, that communicates telepathically. It can also see things that haven't happened yet. For all we know, it already knows we're coming."

"When you say ancient, how ancient are you implying?"

"Black Diamond, aside from being the largest gem, is also by far the oldest. It is a remnant of a star that went supernova three billion years ago."

"Three billion years?"

"Yes. A gem only becomes "pure" when it has lived for long enough. In most cases, it must have existed for at least a billion years. Black Diamond has certainly lived for that long."

"Did it ever have a human form?"

"Of course. When first formed, it had the largest humanoid form of any gem, present or past. In human form, it towered above all others, reaching four hundred feet tall. During its early days, it visited sprouting civilizations, nearly all of which regarded it as a god."

"Were there other pure gems?"

"Yes, there were. That is, until the Great Gem War."


	8. The Great Gem War

"Gem War? Hey! My mom fought in that!"

"No, Steven. You're thinking of the Gem Rebellion. That was just a minor uprising compared to the Great Gem War."

"So what was the Great Gem War?"

"The Great Gem War was the largest conflict ever fought by gems. It took place nearly 100 million years ago and was waged on an intergalactic scale."

"So what were the sides?"

"The two sides were known as the Purgists and the Conservationists. The Purgists, led by Yellow Diamond and White Diamond wanted all intelligent life in the universe wiped out, as they saw it as a potential threat to the expansion of their empire. The Conservationists, led by Blue Diamond and Pink Diamond, agreed with the fact that intelligent life could be a threat to the empire, but didn't think it was morally right to just exterminate it. This sparked conflict, and it turned into a vast civil war that lasted for millions of years and resulted in trillions of gems dying. Eventually, seeing that the war wasn't changing anything, the two sides came to a compromise. Sentient life would not be wiped out, but conserved in captivity under careful observation. Any civilization that tried to rise up and attack the empire, though, would be promptly destroyed."

"So how did the pure gems fit into all of this?"

"The pure gems at that time included such gems as Black Diamond, Red Diamond, Tanzanite, Lonsdaleite, and many more. Knowing that the conflict was pointless, they chose to remain neutral. However, this didn't mean that they were safe from the war. All but Black Diamond were eventually destroyed one way or another."

"If there was a war, how did Black Diamond become the leader of the gems?"

"After the war, the four diamonds came together to establish the New Homeworld Empire, with the Diamond Triumvirate to lead it. Seeing as it was the last remaining pure gem, Black Diamond was given a high seat in the Homeworld government, and eventually rose to become the true leader of the empire."

"…How do you know all this?"

"It told me."

"Black Diamond told you about this?"

"Of course! All black gems become representatives, bodyguards, or spies for Black Diamond. I was to be a representative after my mission, so I was given a one-on-one with Black Diamond before the mission orders were to be given to me. Of course, then something went wrong and I fled Homeworld. Black Diamond knew if I were allowed to run free, the secrets about its rule could be exposed to the other gems. Because of this, it gave the order to take me out."

"Secrets? What secrets?"

"Secrets it wouldn't want anyone but his personal gems to know. Such as the fact that he used living gems as power to keep it in its prime. The fact that it, in fact, was responsible for the death of Pink Diamond. Even the fact that it is planning to indirectly eliminate the other diamonds, one by one, until there is no one left to challenge its rule."

"Black Diamond killed Pink Diamond?"

"Well, not directly. It subconsciously spoke to Rose Quartz, convinced her that destroying Pink Diamond would make things better for Earth."

"So wouldn't eliminating Black Diamond be doing the other diamonds a favour?"

"No. Remember, even now they don't hold the real power in the Homeworld Empire. They are simply doing what Black Diamond is subconsciously telling them to do and then believing they are the ones making the rules."

"Gentlemen, we…"

"Moonstone, can this wait? Steven and I are having a discussion."

"What I'm trying to say is that we have arrived."

Steven ran up to the cockpit and looked out of the viewport. In front of him, a planet loomed. However, it was barely recognizable as a planet. Its entire surface appeared to be covered in a glowing, crystalline substance, and it had three enormous rings and countless space stations orbiting it. Occasionally, an enormous crystalline spire broke the surface of the planet, making it appear to have spikes.

"So, we're headed for the planet?"

"No, Steven," Moonstone replied. "We're going to where the diamonds' headquarters are. We're going to the Homeworld Moon."


	9. Homeworld Infiltration

The moon of Homeworld looked similar to the planet itself, except for the fact that it only had one spire extending out of its surface. This happened to be where the corvette was headed.

"What's that spire?" asked Steven.

Obsidian looked at Steven with incredulity. "You haven't figured it out yet, Steven? That's the location of the diamonds' headquarters."

"What, on top of the spire?"

"The headquarters span the entire spire. What we're aiming for is, in fact, the top. That's where the diamonds reside, and that's where we'll find Black Diamond."

The corvette docked at the large landing pad extending from the side of the spire, and everyone prepared to exit.

"Steven," said Obsidian, "I just realized how you'll be necessary for our plan."

"How is that?"

"Just follow my lead. Moonstone, you'll be my bodyguard. Steven, you've pretended to be a prisoner right?"

"Twice."

"Well then, it's time for you to activate that skill again."

Two gems stood guard on either side of the entrance. Obsidian recognized them as Onyx, guards for only the higher levels of the Gem Authority. Fortunately, he knew how to act around them.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

"I am Obsidian, representative of Black Diamond. I would like to speak with the diamonds concerning this human."

"Oh…very well, your crypticity. You may enter. But better make it brief; the diamonds don't like unscheduled meetings, even if they are with representatives."

"Thank you." The trio stepped inside.

"So, how are you supposed to get past three diamonds at once?" asked Steven. He had begun to sweat from the stress of having to face three of the most powerful figures in the Homeworld heirarchy.

"Don't worry about me," replied Obsidian confidently. "Representatives of Black Diamond are treated as if they are Black Diamond itself, so I can enter without worrying. Besides, I know the lingo around here. I've spoken with the Diamonds before."

The trio walked up an enormous, spiralling flight of stairs to a door easily thirty feet tall. Obsidian walked up and placed a hand on a pad on the front of the door and, with a hiss, it opened into a cavernous room with enormous windows instead of walls. Inside, three gargantuan figures, one blue, one yellow, and one white, stood around a huge, holographic starmap that seemed to show the empire's reach around the entire galaxy. The trio stepped into the room, and the yellow figure's head turned toward them."

"You three! Who said you could be in here? If I recall, there weren't any appointments scheduled for today! How did you even get here without an appointment?"

"Please, Yellow." The white figure placed a hand on the yellow figure's shoulder. "Look at them. Black gems don't usually come around here unless it's very important business. Why don't we hear them out?"

"Hmph," replied Yellow Diamond. "Very well. What is the purpose of your being here?"

"Diamonds, Representative Obsidian reporting in. During a recent mission to Earth, I captured a human who seemed to possess gem powers. After restraining him, I checked his body, and it did indeed have a gem attached to it. I checked with all of the best biological scientists on Homeworld, and they couldn't come to a conclusion. I was hoping I could speak to Black Diamond about this, as he would obviously have the answer."

The blue figure stepped forward. "Hmm. A human with gem powers…curious. If you would, let us see a demonstration of these powers."

Obsidian prodded Steven. "Come on, human. Better do what she says. I wouldn't get on her bad side, or that of any of the diamonds for that matter."

Steven summoned his shield. "That seems to be proof enough," said Blue Diamond. "Yellow, White, I say we let these three see Black Diamond. If there are more like this human, the Earth situation could become that much more difficult."

"Are you simply saying that because it'll make it harder to collect human specimens?" Yellow Diamond simply looked tired now.

Blue diamond didn't look up. She nodded slightly.

Yellow diamond sighed. "Very well. Despite your motives, I see your point. Pearl! Tell Black Diamond to send the lift. Tell it there's an Obsidian wanting to talk with it about a human."

"Yes, my diamond." Yellow diamond's pearl walked over to the speaker on the far side of the room and said something inaudible. Shortly after, a hole opened in the ceiling and a black, transparent-walled capsule entered the room through it.

"This way, your crypticity." The pearl motioned to the capsule into which the trio stepped. "Oh, and one more thing," said the pearl before the door closed. "Black Diamond has been expecting you."


	10. Black Diamond

The capsule door opened into a huge, dimly lit room. It seemed to be featureless but for the huge, diamond shaped gem floating in the center of the room. It was motionless, but its very being seemed to radiate power.

"Ah, Obsidian and Moonstone. I was hoping you'd come." The gem didn't speak, but the trio knew they heard the gem speaking to them inside their minds.

"Ah, Black Diamond," Moonstone said. "We have a very curious case to discuss with you. It pertains to the human right here."

"You may dispense with the pleasantries, gentlemen. I know why you've come. You think you can shatter me. Break me, and thereby break the Homeworld Empire."

"That's right," Obsidian proclaimed. "We are here to put a stop to you and everything you have done. Your conquests, your lies, your unnecessary destruction of innocent gems."

"Unnecessary? Oh, it's hardly unnecessary. Those gems keep me alive. How else would you expect me to remain a diamond for this long? Three billion years I have existed. I have seen empires rise and fall. Not much longer and I would become a simple block of graphite. The gem sacrifices are necessary to keep me, and the Homeworld Empire, in our prime."

"Enough talk!" Obsidian and Moonstone suddenly fused, transforming into an enormous, four-armed humanoid. "I WILL accomplish what I came to do!" Wurtzite reached into both of its gemstones, pulling out first an enormous battle-axe and then a six-bitted pickaxe. "You will die, and the Homeworld Empire will no longer be a threat to the universe!"

"Ah. You really are naïve, my boy." The air around Black Diamond seemed to pulsate, and twenty identical, featureless, completely black warriors armed with Bec de Corbins appeared in front of it.

"Diamond shards, slay the traitors."

Half of the shards disappeared. The other half charged Wurtzite. He swung his axe at their legs, easily poofing them. Suddenly, the first half appeared behind him and went for Steven, who easily blocked their blows with his shield. Wurtzite swung around and poofed the shards. Wheeling around to face Black Diamond, he saw that another forty shards had appeared. This time, Steven threw his shield, which took out a number of them. Wurtzite disposed of the rest easily, only to see that yet more shards had appeared.

"Heh. You can't go on like this."

"Black Diamond's right," shouted Steven. "More are just going to keep forming. We won't be able to stop fighting them!"

Wurtzite could hardly hear Steven, as his body was now nearly covered with shards.

"Oh, and you don't have to worry about your friends on Earth, either." Wurzite and Steven could almost see Black Diamond smiling in their heads. "I've already sent three of my best fleets to eliminate them and that filthy planet the human calls home."

At that moment, something in Wurtzite snapped. Or rather, something in Obsidian snapped. He knew he couldn't fight the shards forever. But Black Diamond had just given the order to destroy everything on Earth. The planet that had given him refuge. The planet that, briefly, he had called home. The Crystal Gems, the only gems that hadn't treated him like a means to an end…they and everyone else on Earth would be wiped from existence, and there wasn't anything he could do about it.

No. He could do something about it. He would destroy Black Diamond, and end all of this. With a shout, he threw the shards off of his body and rushed at Black Diamond with his pickaxe. He could feel it penetrate the enormous gem before he saw it, and an enormous crack appeared on its unblemished surface.

"Hah…hah…" The voice in his head laughed weakly. "You…"

The diamond exploded into hundreds of fragments.

"You are truly naïve."

Six other huge diamonds appeared out of the shadows. Wurtzite looked up and saw the true Black Diamond high above his head. It was attatched to countless tubes and wires, all connected to what appeared to be glass capsules. The capsules each contained a gemstone, each of which seemed to be having its power siphoned off.

"Did you really think I would let myself be vulnerable to even a fusion? I know you would try to shatter me in your Wurtzite form, so I simply inserted a decoy of myself. Now, you seem to have fallen into my trap."

The six diamonds surrounding Wurtzite began to glow. Orbs of light formed in front of them and started growing. Wurtzite tried to move, but the platform he was standing on was somehow restraining his legs.

"Goodbye, Obsidian and Moonstone."

The glowing orbs in front of the diamonds disappeared suddenly. A large crack appeared on the diamond closest to the entrance, and it split in half, revealing a Sardonyx holding a huge drill. Steven and an amethyst were standing next to it.

"Crystal Gems? What are you doing here?" asked Wurtzite in shock.

"Well, you can't just go saving the galaxy without us, can you?" the Sardonyx laughed.

"How did you even get past the diamonds?"

"We didn't," Amethyst said in her casual way. "The diamonds were out overseeing something, so we just busted our way in."

"It doesn't matter how you got in!" The voice seemed to be shouting in everyone's heads. "What matters is that you're not getting out!"

The five remaining diamonds split into fragments. These, and the fragments from the diamond Sardonyx had shattered, turned into at least two hundred shards. The shards charged at the group like a swarm of ants, nearly burying them in their masses.

Black Diamond floated above the chaos, taking it all in. Suddenly, a pickaxe and a drill flew from out of the black mass of shards and towards it. However, rather than hitting it, they went to either side of it.

"Ha. You missed, like I predicted."

"Did we?"

The pickaxe and drill impacted the glass capsules on either side of Black Diamond, shattering them and causing the gems to fall out.

"No! NO! This wasn't supposed to happen!" Black diamond began to deteriorate, chunks of it started to fall off and hit the floor. The shards all started to disappear.

Wurtzite and Sardonyx shook the remaining shards off of them. "Get back!" Wurtzite shouted as an enormous chunk of diamond landed right where Steven had been standing. As the group watched, the great diamond began to glow and, before their eyes, it exploded into nothingness.


	11. Fleet Killer

The impossible had just been accomplished. The head of the Homeworld Empire, Black Diamond, had been destroyed.

"So…we did it? We saved the world?" asked Steven.

"Not quite, Steven," Obsidian replied gravely. "There's still the three fleets on the way to earth that we have to deal with."

Pearl, always the worrier, started pacing up and down. "It's three whole fleets of Gem Warships! How are five gems and a half-gem going to stop THREE WHOLE FLEETS from desiccating Earth?"

"I may have an idea," said Moonstone. "Everyone, follow me."

They all followed Moonstone back through the diamonds' room, down the flight of stairs, past the landing pad, down another flight of stairs, and to a door marked "Experimental Vehicles". Moonstone placed his hand on the pad next to the door, and it opened. Inside were vehicles and mechanisms the likes of which the Crystal Gems had never seen. Some looked vaguely like eyes, some were land vehicles akin to large insects, and some appeared to be actually living vehicles with gems implanted into them.

"Stop staring and come with me. That's the one we'll need."

Moonstone was beckoning towards a door right next to a window that looked out on an enormous, pitch-black spaceship. It looked to be a long cylinder, with the bridge above the main body and close to the front. About a quarter of the way from the back there was a huge, donut-like ring encircling the spaceship and connected via a series of wires and fairings.

"This looks very unlike a gem ship," remarked Garnet.

"That's because it isn't. Not completely, that is. It was created using technology from a spacefaring race Homeworld has long since wiped out."

"How do you know all this?" asked Pearl, surprised.

"Black Diamond told him," Steven butted in.

"All right, everyone! Into the ship!"

The group opened the door and walked through a corridor to the bridge.

Pearl started to worry again. "How are the six of us going to pilot this enormous craft?"

Moonstone walked up to the controls. "Don't worry, Pearl. Most of this craft is automated, so we should be able to manage. Garnet, get the navigation controls and set a course for Earth. Pearl, go ready the fore and aft turrets. Amethyst and Steven, stand by. Obsidian, ready the Chain Light Cannon. It'll take at least until we get to Earth until it's online. I'll start the engines and get us going."

Everyone did their part, and soon the cylindrical spaceship was skimming toward Earth.

"Moonstone?" He turned to see Steven standing behind him. "What exactly is a Chain Light Cannon?"

"Don't worry, Steven. You'll see soon enough."

"We'll be arriving at Earth in five seconds," shouted Garnet suddenly.

Five seconds later, Earth came into view. What also came into view was a group of at least two hundred gem warships.

"All right, Steven, time to show you what the Chain Light Cannon can do. Obsidian! Is the CLC online?"

"Ready and waiting, Moonstone!"

"Very good." The spaceship maneuvered its front to align with the closest warship. "Charge the CLC."

The ring on the spaceship started to glow. Electricity crackled down the wires and fairings onto the main body of the ship. A low hum could be heard as the Chain Light Cannon charged up. Slight vibrations, getting steadily stronger, were felt in the bridge.

"Chain Light Cannon is ready to fire, Moonstone!"

"Fire."

A thin, red beam shot out of the front of the cylinder. It impacted the gem warship in front and split into several more beams as the warship exploded. These, in turn, impacted other warships and did the same until fifteen gem warships had been destroyed.

"Fifteen in one?" Steven was in awe. "How does it do that?"

"The Chain Light Cannon functions much in the same way as a normal light cannon does, but a special alteration to the projectile makes it so upon impact, the projectile splits into several projectiles that strike other targets, and the process repeats. That's why some of the scientists that developed it nicknamed it the 'fleet killer'."

"Don't look now," Amethyst shouted, "but I think the rest of the fleet knows we're here!"

Thirty gem warships were bearing down on the cylindrical spaceship.

"They're moving to attack position! Get the turrets online, Pearl! Obsidian, prep another CLC round!"

Pearl shot down five warships before the fore turrets were blown out of commission. Another blast from the CLC took out another twelve warships. However, the rest of the ships were now headed toward their position.

"Moonstone!" Pearl cried. "The turrets are down and the shields are at 40% capacity!"

A blast rocked the ship.

"28% capacity now! There's no way we're going to make it out of this!"

"Well, folks, it was nice knowing you all," Amethyst said with resignation.

"Well," said Obsidian, "there is one way, but you probably won't like it."

"What's that? We need solutions, not simple ideas!" Pearl was flying all over the controls, trying to somehow get one of the turrets online.

"We could set the CLC to overdrive, which will be able to destroy the entire fleet. However, that comes at a cost. The high power consumption would require two gems to sacrifice their physical forms to provide enough energy. Under the circumstances, Moonstone and I will be the ones to do it."

"Obsidian, no! We can find another way!"

"There is no other way, Steven. This must be done. Are you ready, Moonstone?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Right. Crystal Gems, we'll be going to the CLC power containment unit." The two gems walked to the bridge entrance. "You'll have to activate it when the overdrive setting becomes active."

"I'm on it," said Pearl.

"Oh, and one more thing." Obsidian and Moonstone turned to face the Crystal Gems. "It's been a pleasure fighting alongside you, though for only a brief time."

They turned to walk down the corridor, and the hatch slid shut.


	12. Return to Earth

Five minutes later, the option for CLC overdrive appeared on the control screen. Pearl pressed it, and the whole ship seemed to vibrate. A huge red beam, ten times bigger than the first one, shot out of the front of the ship and engulfed the closest warship. The impact sent beams shooting to every other ship until it looked like an enormous glowing tree branching out in front of the ship. This lasted for only a few seconds, and then a series of explosions sent the spaceship reeling off course.

"Everyone stay here. I'm going to the power containment unit." Steven opened the entrance hatch and ran down the corridor. Shortly after, he returned holding two gemstones.

"That's…them," said Pearl.

Garnet looked on thoughtfully. "They gave their lives for us. A very noble thing for a Homeworld Gem to do, in my opinion."

Steven pocketed the two gemstones. "Come on, guys. We need to find a way off of this ship." The group searched through the ship until they found the hangar. It had two roaming eye landing crafts in it, and they took one of them. Fortunately, the gems knew the location of Beach City from space, and they landed safely in front of the temple. When they landed, they were surprised to see the entire beach full of people. Two people were sitting right next to the temple. Exiting the roaming eye, the group could see that it was Connie and Greg. They ran up to Steven, telling him about the lights and the explosions in the sky. Steven took them inside the temple and explained everything to them.

"So Earth is safe now?" Connie inquired.

"Yes," Steven replied. "According to what Obsidian told Garnet, the Homeworld government should be falling into disarray and will likely stop the expansion of their empire at the very least."

"What about the very most?" Greg asked.

"At the most, the Homeworld Empire will fall apart and the gems will organize into warring clans, too busy fighting each other to focus on reconstruction or expansion." Garnet grinned. "I'd like to see if the Rubies and Sapphires form an alliance."

After that, things returned to normal. Steven hung out with Connie and the gems, they hunted down corrupted gems, and they didn't hear that much from Homeworld. However, one thing was different. Above the inner entrance to the temple, two new gems, one black and one white, hung in a metal frame as memorabilia for the strange event.


End file.
